Challenges and Lessons Learned:
Micro Air Vehicle
Requirements Development
Gilbert Islas
May 5, 2012
Professor Lawrence Chung
Advanced Requirements Engineering
SYSM 6309
Outline
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Motivation and Context
Problem Statement
Solution and Approach
Validation and Illustration
Recommendations and Future Work
What are MAVs?
• A Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a class of
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
▫ Must be smaller than 15 cm
▫ May be autonomous
• Developed for military ISR applications
▫ Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
• Allows remote observation of hazardous
environments.
▫ Keeps humans out of harm’s way.
• Other development driven by:
▫ Commercial applications:
 Hobby, real estate, entrepreneurs
▫ Local government
▫ Research and Development (Agriculture)
History and Concept Genesis
• Early 1990s: MIT Lincoln Labs
▫ Creates concept model of tiny EO
reconnaissance system.
▫ CIA is interested in an insect-like
platform for covert ops.
• 1993: RAND Corporation studies
sensor-carrying insects.
• 1995: DARPA holds micro air vehicle
technology workshop. Leads to $35M
contract.
▫ Loose requirement definitions.
▫ What are the stakeholder objectives?
• 1997: DARPA narrows vision for
MAVs to be used by the individual
soldier.
▫ Reconnaissance, surveillance, battle
damage assessment, targeting,
nuclear, or biological substances.
Original Problem Definition
• Micro Air Vehicles are “less than
15 cm”.
▫ What does this mean?
 Can it be a sphere, cylinder, or
cube?
 Can an MAV have moving parts
(propellers and rotors) that extend
beyond 15 cm?
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Conduct real-time imaging.
Ranges up to 10 km.
Speeds of up to 30 mph.
Missions are 20 minutes long.
Redefine the Mission
• Original vision was for outdoor use.
▫ Environmental flight limitations (i.e. High Winds).
▫ Is this system tactically practical?
• A 15 cm MAV can support a maximum 15 cm
antenna = 2 GHz frequency range.
▫ Requires Line-of-Sight transmission.
▫ Implies “look over the hill” Scenario
 Distance of 1 km to look over 30 m tall hill and at a
distance of 60 m from MAV.
 Requires altitude of more than 500 meters (1640 FT) to
maintain line-of-sight.
 Far out of sight and earshot of observers, even for UAVs.
Why are MAVs needed for outdoor ISR missions???
New Use Case for Indoor Operation
• After 2 decades of UAV
development, no assets exist to
covertly penetrate:
▫ Buildings
▫ Tunnels/Caves
▫ Bunkers
• Size is important in indoor and
confined spaces.
• Unfamiliar enclosures are dangerous
for soldiers to enter.
• Ground vehicles have difficulty
penetrating.
• No need to operate in high winds.
• No need for long stand-off
capability.
Problem Statement
• “No other air vehicle design space has presented
the mix of challenges as that of miniature flight
platforms. The creators of these aerial robots
must address the same physical design
constraints which have already been mastered
by the world of airborne biology”
▫ Robert C. Michelson
 Georgia Tech Research Institute
 Designer of Entomopter MAV
Requirements Challenges
▫ “Must be able to fly, be controllable, and have useful
endurance”
▫ Low Reynold’s number aerodynamics.
 Air is more viscous for small flight vehicles.
 Technology is not scalable (materials, electronics, motors,
airfoils).
 Complex issues with bio-mimicry.
▫ Small size, slow flight, ability to navigate without GPS.
 Critical implications for efficient aerodynamic structure
and weight.
 Surface area is limited.
 Focus on propulsive power and energy density of fuel.
 Autonomous flight controls
 Navigation and decision making in obstacle-rich enclosures.
Top-Level Requirements
• High Lift-to-drag ratio
• Airfoil Shape
• High Propulsive Power
▫ Fuel energy density
• Flight Endurance
▫ Power consumption
• Total Weight
• Strength of Materials
• Controls and Controllability
▫ Inner-loop and Outer Loop
• Autonomy
▫ Decision making, target acquisition, tracking, vision,
network communication.
Design Solutions
• Fixed Wing
▫ High speeds (up to 40 mph)
▫ Not suitable indoors
• Rotary Wing
▫ Like mini helicopters
▫ Fly slowly and hover
▫ Multiple propellers are popular
but can be inefficient. (i.e.
Quadrotor design)
• Flapping Wing
▫ Best for indoor use
 Slower flight
 Robustness and survivability
 Biological Inspiration
Biological Inspiration is used to
Validate Requirements
• Insect-like Flapping-Wing architecture
▫ U.S. Air Force “Bumble-Bee”
• Honey Bee-like energy storage and consumption
goals.
▫ Sugars (fuel) is chemically stored in nectar
▫ Immediate access to energy
• Honey Bee-like flight controls
▫ Observe bilateral flow of objects to assess speed and
trajectory.
• Insect-like pheromone tracking
▫ Autonomous tracking
Future Development Considerations
• Do not develop requirements until a useful use case
scenario is identified.
▫ Do not let the technology define the need.
▫ Start with a problem and goals and find the solution later.
• Not all technology is scalable or makes sense.
▫ Classical aerodynamics break down at small scales.
 Reynold’s number takes effect (air is more viscous).
▫ Strength of materials, propulsions systems and motors,
electronics, GPS capability, LOS communication.
• Continued bio-inspiration
▫ More autonomous systems and networked communication.
▫ Smaller, lighter, and higher strength.
▫ Higher endurance.
 MEMS technology and chemically fueled motors.
▫ Insect-sized aircraft expected in the future.
References
• “Micro Air Vehicle” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_air_vehicle
• “RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 30, Operational Test and Evaluation Report” J.
Michael Gilmore, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, May 2011.
• B. Christensen, “Micro Air Vehicle in-use in Iraq”
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-FictionNews.asp?NewsNum=1111
• M. Wohlsen, “Drones coming to a sky near you as interest surges”
http://news.yahoo.com/drones-coming-sky-near-interest-surges150302837.html
• M. Masnick, “Why You Can't Have A Tacocopter Drone Deliver You A Taco
For Lunch Today”, 27 MAR, 2012,
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120327/04431918256/why-you-canthave-tacocopter-d...
• Michelson, R. C. 2010 “Overview of Micro Air Vehicle System Design and
Integration Issues”, Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering.